This weekend, the Gaming, Arts, Media, and Entertainment (G.A.M.E.) Expo enters its 10th year. The action begins Friday, Oct. 5, and will continue on through Sunday evening at the Springfield Expo Center. Tickets on Friday and Sunday are $10 and tickets on Saturday are $15 – or you can get a weekend pass for $30.

Gaming galore

The G.A.M.E Expo is an annual convention that is driven by the nonprofit organization Eclectic Endeavors in collaboration with the Springfield Regional Arts Council. Chris Stuart, chairman of Eclectic Endeavors, explained what it’s all about.

“The event is a three-day convention where we focus on tabletop gaming, which includes anything from board games to role-playing games, as well as electronic gaming. We also do a costume contest Saturday night. At the event, people can play games, attend panels and visit over 40 vendors that will be selling art, costumes and props like wands and capes,” said Stuart. “We also have three guests of honor who will be conducting panels and offering meet and greets and autographs.”

These guests of honor include Springfield native Melissa Hutchison, who is the voice of Clementine in the Walking Dead video game series, award-winning cosplay team Pocket Roxas and Proxy Projects, and video game designer Eric Wile.

Photo via Chris Stuart.

Something for everyone

Vendors and exhibitors will also be at the event. Matt Decker, self-published author of the comic book series “Zombie Dave,” has been attending the G.A.M.E. Expo since 2011.

“It’s a fantastic event for anyone who considers themselves a gamer or even just likes games of any kind. Whether you enjoy playing board games, video games, role-playing games – like Dungeons & Dragons, for example – or collectible card games like Magic: The Gathering or even Cards Against Humanity, there’s probably something there for you,” said Decker.

Karisa Jones, owner of Felisfire, which is a game that allows the player to create and breed alien cats, will also be at the G.A.M.E. Expo this year.

“There are so many great artists in the area and [the G.A.M.E. Expo] gives them a chance to come out and show off their work,” said Jones.

Saving and earning money

The G.A.M.E Expo keeps tickets affordable, so more community members can participate.

“Our event focuses on the individual coming to the event and having fun. We are never going to focus on paying a big name celebrity to come because G.A.M.E Expo is more about having hours and hours of experiences with gaming. Because of that, we keep our prices lower to make it more fun than just getting autographs,” explained Stuart.

While the event is mostly about having fun, it has another focus: education. This year, Eclectic Endeavors and the Springfield Regional Arts Council are offering scholarships to those pursuing degrees in art, gaming, animation and other related subjects.

Scholarships in the amount of $500 are available to high school seniors, as well as those currently enrolled in higher education.

To explore more about this exciting event and apply for the scholarship, check out www.springfieldgame.com. If you’re interested in Matt Decker’s “Zombie Dave” comic, you can view his work at www.stonepimedia.com. If alien cats are more your fancy, head on over to www.felisfire.com.

Article by Delilah Gadd.